Rail vehicle having an interior which can be partially shut off

ABSTRACT

A rail vehicle includes an interior which can be partially shut off and is constructed from a plurality of car bodies. At least one dividing wall, which can be extended, runs in a direction transverse to the rail vehicle and divides a segment of the rail vehicle which is accessible to people from a segment of the rail vehicle which is inaccessible to people.

The invention relates to a rail vehicle having an interior which can be partially shut off and is constructed from a plurality of car bodies.

In the case of rail vehicles, the fundamentally available interior may not be required in its entirety because of too small a number of passengers. In order to avoid unnecessary energy consumption, 2- or 3-part vehicles are coupled together and are then detached again when required. This is the case, for example, in the VT642 or the Desiro ML. It is disadvantageous that, in this case, even drivers cabs which cannot be used are towed along. A further alternative is traction engines to which passenger cars can be attached and detached. For the operator, this means coupling time and necessary shunting space.

The coupling or decoupling of car segments in the case of multi-part rail vehicles is associated with a high outlay, which is generally considered disadvantageous.

Taking this as the starting point, it is the object of the invention to develop a rail vehicle of the type referred to at the beginning in such a manner that a subdivision thereof into accessible and inaccessible segments can be handled more simply.

This object is achieved in that at least one extendible dividing wall is provided, which dividing wall runs in the transverse direction of the rail vehicle and divides a segment of the rail vehicle that is accessible to people from a segment of the rail vehicle that is inaccessible to people. It is thereby possible, depending on the currently required interior capacity of the rail vehicle, to provide an appropriate segment for passengers by actuation of the dividing wall. Of course, further extendible dividing walls which are functionally identical to the at least one dividing wall can also be provided along the rail vehicle.

The rail vehicle can be completely continuous, i.e. the interior of the rail vehicle is not interrupted by ends of car bodies with associated doors. One or more dividing walls then divide the rail vehicle in the longitudinal direction thereof into accessible and inaccessible segments.

The at least one dividing wall can be act-2-uable manually. This has the advantage that, when the dividing wall is closed, the passenger situation present in the region of the dividing wall can be noted by an operator, and therefore possible risks when closing the dividing wall are minimized.

Electric loads which are assigned to the segments of the rail vehicle that are inaccessible to people can be switched off separately. Examples of said loads include an air-conditioning system or a lighting means of the vehicle. Owing to this measure, electrical energy can be saved. With an increasing number of passengers, segments which are released are again operated in a customary manner.

The at least one dividing wall can be arranged in a transition region between two car bodies of the rail vehicle. This creates a favorable division of the interior. The at least one dividing wall can be of multi-wing design, and therefore said dividing wall can be opened and closed in a simple manner. In this case, a fixed wing which emerges from the associated side wall can be provided in each case on both sides of the rail vehicle while further wings are guided in the transverse direction of the rail vehicle. This results in a mechanically simple realization of the dividing wall.

Alternatively, the dividing wall can be realized with two laterally attached rolling cages, one rolling cage at the top and one rolling cage at the bottom, or with a hinge, etc.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of a block diagram of a rail vehicle with a plurality of inner dividing walls,

FIGS. 2/3 each show a longitudinal section of the rail vehicle with a dividing wall in the open and in the closed position.

FIG. 1 illustrates a twelve-part rail vehicle, specifically, for graphical reasons, in two vehicle parts arranged one above the other. The outermost right, upper car body here adjoins the outermost left, lower car body. For reasons of clarity, only one of the twelve car bodies is provided with a reference number.

The rail vehicle is divided into four segments, specifically in each case with the aid of structurally identical dividing walls T. The lower right part of the illustrated rail vehicle, which comprises three car bodies W, is an opened-up region F. This is separated by means of the adjacent dividing wall T in the center of the lower part of the rail vehicle in FIG. 1 from a region which is inaccessible to passengers. Two further dividing walls T form additional vehicle segments. All of the dividing walls T can be opened when required, if necessary, for example, because of the number of passengers. In the exemplary embodiment presented, first of all the dividing wall T arranged centrally in the lower part would be opened so that two further car bodies W are available for passengers.

Electric devices, such as air-conditioning systems and lighting means, which are associated with the respective vehicle segments can each be switched on and off separately, and therefore electrical energy for unused car bodies W is saved. Depending on the type, the electric devices may also be switched to a standby mode.

The design of the dividing wall T becomes clear with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. Each dividing wall T consists of six door wings TF, of which in each case three interact in the manner of a sliding door and are arranged on the one and the other side wall S of the rail vehicle. In each case one of the three door wings TF forming a wall half is fixed and is connected to the side wall S. The open position of the dividing wall T in FIG. 2 permits the passage of passengers, whereas, in the position illustrated in FIG. 3, part of the rail vehicle is inaccessible to passenger traffic.

In other embodiments, the dividing wall can also be provided with rolling cages or as a hinge. 

1-8. (canceled)
 9. A rail vehicle, comprising: a plurality of car bodies configured to be interconnected along a rail vehicle direction and defining an interior configured to be partially shut off; and at least one extendable dividing wall extending in a direction transverse to said rail vehicle direction and dividing the rail vehicle into a segment being accessible to people and a segment being inaccessible to people.
 10. The rail vehicle according to claim 9, wherein the rail vehicle is completely continuous.
 11. The rail vehicle according to claim 9, wherein said at least one dividing wall is manually actuable.
 12. The rail vehicle according to claim 9, which further comprises electric loads associated with said segment being inaccessible to people, said electric loads configured to be switched off separately.
 13. The rail vehicle according to claim 9, which further comprises a transition region disposed between two of said car bodies, said at least one dividing wall disposed in said transition region.
 14. The rail vehicle according to claim 9, which further comprises other extendable dividing walls disposed along the rail vehicle, said other extendable dividing walls being functionally identical to said at least one dividing wall.
 15. The rail vehicle according to claim 9, wherein said at least one dividing wall has multiple wings.
 16. The rail vehicle according to claim 15, wherein said car bodies have side walls, and said multiple wings include fixed wings each emerging from a respective one of said side walls and other door wings guided in a direction transverse to said rail vehicle direction. 